The longest elevated toll road in the country, Jakarta-Cikampek II, will serve holiday travelers soon. 

State-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga said the toll road, which began construction in July 2017, would be inaugurated by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Thursday. 

With the toll road opening ahead of schedule, it is expected to share the traffic burden of Christmas and New Year travel.

Jasa Marga spent Rp 16.23 trillion (US$ 1.15 billion) on the construction of the 36.4-kilometer toll road. 

Jasa Marga president director Desi Arryani said the toll road would have no exit in the middle.

"The elevated toll is intended for people traveling to cities in Java. People will not be able to exit the toll road in Tambun, Cikarang, West Karawang or Rengasdengklok, as we only provide an exit at the beginning and end of the toll road," Desi said on Sunday as reported by kompas.com.

Desi also explained that the toll road would not have rest stops or gas stations. "However, we will still station officers along the toll road and provide tow trucks and ambulances for emergency situations."

She said the Jakarta-Cikampek II elevated toll road would only be designated for private vehicles, meaning that trucks and buses would not be allowed to use it.

Jasa Marga spokesperson Dwimawan Heru said the company was still discussing the toll with the government.  

"We will announce the fee after we acquire an operation eligibility certificate for the elevated toll road from the Transportation Ministry. However, we plan to offer it for free during the initial operation of the toll road," Dwimawan told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said the toll road would be equipped with electronic traffic law enforcement (ETLE) cameras.

"The ministry has coordinated with the National Police to use the ETLE system on the toll road," he said on Monday.

Budi said during the initial operation of the toll road, the maximum speed limit would be set at 60 km per hour.

National Police Traffic Corps head Insp. Gen. Istiono said besides installing ETLE cameras, he would also assign police officers at each U-turn on the toll road. "They will remind drivers about the speed limit," Istiono said.

Based on a 2019 survey conducted by the ministry, the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road, which lies under the Jakarta-Cikampek II toll road, is the most popular route for people traveling out of town for the year-end holidays.  

"Based on the survey, 69 percent of respondents said they will use the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road during Christmas and New Year’s," head of research and development at the ministry, Sugiharjo, said on Monday as reported by antaranews.co.

Other popular routes according to survey respondents are the Jagorawi toll road (15 percent), Cipularang toll road (9 percent) and Merak-Bakaheuni toll road (9 percent).

Sugiharjo explained people who planned to use the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road during the holidays were those planning to visit West Java, Central Java, East Java and Bali.

Meanwhile, he explained that the peak of the exodus was expected on Dec. 20 to 21 and Dec. 27, while the peak of return travel would fall on Jan. 1 to 2.

Restu Oka Yuditia, 24, who is from Bandung, West Java but works in Jakarta, hopes the elevated toll road helps ease traffic congestion along the Jakarta-Cikampek route, especially during the holidays.

“The Jakarta-Cikampek toll road is notorious for its heavy congestion on weekends and during holidays. Sometimes it could take four to five hours to travel from Jakarta to Bandung [from the normal two hours],” she told the Post.

Neneng Rahma Mulyawati, a 25-year-old from Garut, West Java, working in West Jakarta, shared a similar sentiment. 

“It can take eight to nine hours to travel from Jakarta to Garut and the only area with traffic congestion is Cikampek. So I hope the elevated toll road is a solution to that problem,” she said.

Indonesian Transportation Society expert Djoko Setijowarno said he remained optimistic that the elevated toll road would ease traffic congestion along the Jakarta-Cikampek route.

“Since the elevated toll road doesn't have exits in the middle, the toll road will only be used by drivers who travel long distances, meaning that people who travel from Central Java and East Java to Jakarta and vice versa will not meet people who want to travel short distances, like to Bekasi or Bandung. So I’m confident that the toll road will ease traffic congestion along the Jakarta-Cikampek route,” he said on Tuesday.

Djoko also said he was optimistic that the ETLE system would be effective in reducing traffic violations. 

“The ETLE system has been implemented on the Mojokerto toll road, East Java. The system immediately fines violators Rp 250,000 to Rp 300,000 at the exits. Since its implementation, research shows that there has been a decrease in accidents on the toll road,” he said.

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